A Chance Like This
by phiphil
Summary: Hermione is in her last year at Hogwarts and gets an offer she can't refuse. Still dealing with the aftermath of the Second Wizarding War, Hermione has to work together with a group of people who are having enough issues of their own to stop an old enemy from seeking revenge. We'll just have to see how that goes.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: **This is me basically trying to figure out how to write fanfiction (and how this site works).

Short introduction: Dumbledore's still alive and other differences with the HP and Avengers books/films will pretty much be explained in the story.

* * *

Hermione Granger walked towards the office of the school's Headmaster. Professor Dumbledore wasn't exactly known for his interest in students –other than Harry Potter, of course - these past months, so Hermione wasn't sure why she was summoned to his office this afternoon. It might have to do with her wanting to finish her last year at Hogwarts, but it never occurred to her that this might cause any problems. After all, Voldemort was defeated and Hogwarts was re-opened again, for _all _students. Harry and Ron weren't going to finish their last year with her, but that was just as well. She'd miss them, of course, but now she'd be able to focus on her studies. And on her studies alone, which was nice. And very much needed. Definitely.

So, there she was, waiting. A few minutes passed by and she wondered why Dumbledore wanted to speak to her. Why now. He knew she'd return for her last year, the teachers knew, her first classes were fine. The seventh year was smaller than any other year, but it wasn't that she was alone there. There should be no reason to cancel the classes.

"_They wouldn't", _she thought.

Hermione sighed and sat down on one of the chairs put there to make sure people didn't have to wait very long whilst standing. Now she could sit. And wait.

More minutes passed and suddenly the door leading to Dumbledore's office cracked open. Albus Dumbledore was standing in the doorway, inviting her in.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Miss Granger?"

Hermione politely refuses, still rather nervous about what this was actually about. They sit down and there's silence. A silence far too long, if you'd ask Hermione.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, obviously knowing something Hermione didn't.

"uhm.. Professor Dumbledore," she asked trying to make it sound casual, "why did you want to speak to me?"

Dumbledore smiled, "A very straightforward question, Miss Granger." He intertwined his hands and moved them to his face. "It is, even for me, an interesting matter. I can assume you've heard about the recent events in New York?"

Hermione looked up, uncertain why those events were of importance to their conversation.

"Yes, of course, Professor. The city of New York was attacked by an army not from this world, led by Loki from Asgard. They got defeated by the hand of what the muggles call the "Avengers", a team of superheroes."

Dumbledore nodded, "You're right about that, Miss Granger. I already expected you to be aware of said events. Few wizards do."

_Oh._

Dumbledore continued, "Muggle newspapers are filled with stories about these heroes, but one cannot find those in ours. Do you know why, Miss Granger?"

"We had our own war. Harry defeated Voldemort. The Daily Prophet only writes about that, Harry and of course whether Professor Snape was a hero or a villain."

A snorting sound came from one of the paintings. Hermione looked up to Snape literally looking down on her. Hermione acknowledged him no further, but it was kind of awkward realizing there were lots of people listening along. They weren't really alive, but still.

"Professor, without any disrespect, but why is this of significance?"

Dumbledore stood up at this question. He turned towards Fawkes and stroked its head. He seemed lost in thought and Hermione felt suddenly extremely out-of-place. She studied the shelves in the office; lots of things were destroyed during the war, but it still looked like Dumbledore's office. Small devices, maps, books, lots of books and other magical items were lying around.

The Headmaster turned around and watched Hermione for a little while. Hermione looked up and Dumbledore sat down again.

"Miss Granger, the reason that I called for you is quite strange. I am going to offer you something, which you are allowed to refuse or accept. But you will not have time to think your options over. Once you accept, you will leave school today. You are of course able to decline it. It will, however, never be offered to you again. It is as much as a chance, as it is a burden."

"What is it, then?" Hermione asked, not really caring anymore whether that might have sounded a bit disrespectful.

"An internship."

"An internship..?"

"Yes, exactly that. An internship with a muggle organisation."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. This was the offer? An internship?

"Sir. Why is this such an important internship?"

The truth was, Hermione had been offered multiple internships, some jobs as well, but she had said no to every one of them. "School first" was the idea. And she knew the offers would still be there once she would finish her education at Hogwarts. People knew who she was now after the war. Hermione Granger, hero and friend of Harry Potter. Usually just that last part, but it was alright. Annoying at times, but people were usually extremely kind to her, knowing what she had done for the wizarding world. And yes, offers such as this were made quite often. But why this one was important enough for Dumbledore to talk to her about, she didn't know.

"Ah, another good question, Miss Granger. Well, you see, when the people in New York were attacked, there was panic. A city was nearly destroyed, but people realised how vulnerable they actually were. Without that group of exceptional people, the city of New York would have been destroyed. My point is, Miss Granger, that other governments and organisations realised they couldn't handle everything on their own, hence the assembling of the Avengers."

Hermione gave her Headmaster a nod, encouraging him to continue.

"I believe you have heard of the organization called S.H.I.E.L.D., yes?"

"The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"10 points to Gryffindor," Dumbledore said with a small smile on his face. "But yes, you are right. That's what it stands for. Anyway, S.H.I.E.L.D. contacted the Ministry a while ago, hoping to gain access in our community. The minister wasn't overly fond of this idea, but S.H.I.E.L.D. was quite .. convincing. Our Minister came up with the idea of an internship, namely: one student shall be sent to S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters."

Hermione wasn't sure whether she was hearing this correctly. S.H.I.E.L.D. … _The _S.H.I.E.L.D.

"And you're offering this internship… _to me?_"

"You are correct, Miss Granger. So, are you going or not?"

The question took Hermione by surprise. "You want me to decide now?"

"I have told you this earlier: you would not have time to think it over, so yes, you have to decide now."

Hermione sighed nervously. This could be a great opportunity, she could learn a lot, and the fact that she might just meet some superheroes was well, all she needed to know.

"Alright. I'll do it." _I've got nothing to lose, _she finished in her mind. Which was true. She still needed to find her parents and Harry and Ron could manage on their own by now.

Dumbledore's eyes had that same twinkle again and he stepped away from the table, "Well then, Miss Granger, I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine: Steve Rogers."

* * *

**Author's note: **

You can expect weekly updates, I think. :3

I'd really appreciate reviews since I still have no idea what I'm doing. Haha!

Thanks in advance! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: **First of all, thank you for all the reviews! I loved reading them and they're very helpful, so yeah. Please keep doing that. ;)

Some of you have mentioned about possible relationships between Hermione and an Avenger. To be honest, I'm not sure whether I'm going to pair her up with someone, and if so, with whom. So, we'll just have to see.

Hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

* * *

Steve Rogers... _The _Steve Rogers... was standing in the doorway. Dumbledore had opened the door to let the man in and Hermione had risen from her chair immediately. Hermione had never met him or seen him before but she recognised him right away. He wasn't wearing his famous stars and stripes, but he was still Steve Rogers. Or Captain America. Wow. "_For Godric's sake, Granger, get yourself together," _she thought. Hermione wasn't really sure how to address him, though, so she just went with:

"Uh... Hello. Nice to meet you," _sounding very intelligent... _Mentally face palming she stepped towards Dumbledore and the Captain, she'd faced bigger threats, meeting a superhero shouldn't be that much of a deal.

Then there was Steve, completely taken aback by the magical items he'd never seen before. When he entered the castle, after someone put some sort of "spell" on him, he was brought to Dumbledore's office. He'd been there once before, but that was a long time ago. Everything still looked old, odd and magical and he was just looking at one of Dumbledore's bookcases before turning his attention towards the girl standing in front of him. He reached out his hand to shake Hermione's, "Good afternoon, Miss Granger."

Dumbledore just shook his head in amusement, figuring Hermione didn't know what to say meeting a "real superhero" for the first time and Steve having to enter a world full of things he didn't understand. Again. He was coping quite well, Dumbledore thought.

"Steve, thank you for coming," Dumbledore smiled, "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"As much as I'd appreciate, Albus," Steve smiled apologetically, "Nick Fury gave me very strict orders. I'm here to collect Miss Granger and bring her to our HQ without any further delay."

"Such a shame, I had just bought these tea leaves which supposedly taste like lemon drops. You'd have liked them, Steve."

And that was that. Hermione thanked Dumbledore for the opportunity, and he reassured her it should be him thanking her. After all, she was going to be the one making sure S.H.I.E.L.D. and the magical community were going to, hopefully, work together more. This thought frightened Hermione a bit. Steve shook hands with Dumbledore and he and Hermione walked out of Dumbledore's office.

"Can I still get some things from my room?"

Steve squinted his eyes a bit, obviously not wanting to ignore a direct order from Fury. He sighed and smiled, "Of course you can." And she could, of course. She wasn't a prisoner, merely an intern. Hermione led them to the moving staircases and Steve reminded himself of giving Fury another 10 dollars. He stared in awe at the moving and speaking (!) paintings around him. Hermione grinned, remembering the times she got lost at Hogwarts because of these stairs.

"It's amazing, isn't it?"

Steve just nodded. Hermione walked towards the Gryffindor common room as two first years ran by. They suddenly came to a halt and their mouths dropped. They must have been Muggle-borns of at least half-bloods, since most children growing up in the magical world didn't really know anything about superheroes. Let alone recognise one. Hermione grabbed Steve's arm and pulled him away from the painting he was talking to. "Come, or you'll gather a crowd."

Steve frowned. He hadn't realised someone had recognised him.

"That knight painting said he wanted to battle me..."

"He does that with practically everyone. Just ignore him."

Hermione gave the Fat Lady the correct password and they stepped inside. "We're in a tower?" Steve asked, and Hermione nodded. She was just going to get her stuff and then go to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, and Godric knows where that is. Yes, she was getting more nervous by the minute. "You should wait here," she told Steve, knowing he wouldn't make it up those stairs. He simply nodded, staring at two third years playing wizard's chess. The boys had abandoned the game and were simply looking at Steve, not knowing who that guy standing in the middle of their common room was.

Hermione grabbed her muggle clothes, photos and other important things and quickly put them in her trunk. She turned to her books and tried to make a small selection of her favourites or the ones she might need – which was proving extremely difficult - when she heard a yell.

She spun around and grabbed her wand. Months of hunting Horcruxes had taught her a few things, being on guard at all times was definitely one of them. She quickly stepped out of her room and saw what, or rather who, was responsible for the sudden tumult. There on the floor was Steve, lying in a heap of … well, Steve. She heard a soft grumble coming from him. It was obvious what had happened, the stairs leading to the bedroom had turned into a slide. She smiled at Steve trying to untangle his limps and slid down next to him. "I did tell you about you having to wait here, you know." Steve puffed and then gave her a weak smile, "You were gone for quite a while, and I just thought I'd check on you. See if you were ready to leave."

Hermione just nodded, "Wait a second, I'm going to get my trunk and we'll be ready to leave." Steve gave her a thankful nod. As much as Hogwarts was home to Hermione, Steve couldn't help but feel out-of-place. A lot. He just wanted to go back to what he knew. Not that he knew the world he was currently living in, but this was unknown and unfamiliar on a whole different level.

Hermione appeared right next to him again, pulling her trunk. Steve took the handle of the trunk and carried it out of the room without Hermione being able to tell she's perfectly capable of doing it herself. But this was also kind of nice.

She glanced at the common room that has been her home for almost seven years. The paintings, the fireplace, the couch; she tried to imprint every detail of the room she loved so much before following Steve out of the room. She then led the way out of the castle without glancing back.

"Where are we going, um, Steve?" She asked.

Steve stopped, still carrying the heavy trunk like it was nothing, "Fury told me to bring you to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters, so, that's where we're heading."

"Yes, but _where _is that?"

"There."

"Where?"

"There," Steve pointed towards the water in front of the castle.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is _here_? Next to Hogwarts?"

"No," Steve said, "Well, technically, now it is. But only for another few minutes or so."

"Are you going to explain this to me or what?"

Steve put the trunk down when they reached the waterside and pulled out some sort of phone out of his pocket, he pressed a button and nothing happened.

Hermione just stood there, contemplating whether Steve was crazy or that this was one big prank. At that moment Hermione heard a roaring sound as from a giant engine. The water seemed to move around a huge object in the center of the lake, but she couldn't see anything. The sound got louder and a huge aircraft carrier slowly appeared, piece by piece. It looked a lot like the charm she used to hide their tent during the War.

"_That_ is S.H.I.E.L.D.s headquarters."

"Oh." Now Hermione was the one staring in awe. She'd seen a lot, but nothing like this. The plane or ship or... well, she didn't really know what it was, was completely visible now and a small boat approached them. A guy wearing a black uniform greeted them and they entered the little boat. Steve was carrying the trunk again, which Hermione was really thankful for. They entered the ship/plane-thing and Steve took Hermione to the control room, or to Hermione the room with a huge window. People were sitting at desks with computers, working on things Hermione had never seen before – which doesn't happen very often – and there, standing in the middle of that room, was a man in a long black coat, and – believe it or not - an eye patch.

Steve walked over to the man en said something to him Hermione didn't hear. The man turned around, looking at Hermione as if he's looking at something that's for sale. He showed no sign of approval, but also none of disapproval and he stepped towards Hermione and shook her hand. "Granger. You can call me Director Fury. Welcome to the Helicarrier."

Hermione - realising this was the man Steve got his orders from - nodded, "Yes, sir. Thank you."

"Rogers, if could you show Miss Granger her room."

Steve gave a quick nod, walked past Hermione and took her trunk again. Hermione quickly followed him, leaving the control room and the people working their behind her. They walked through a few corridors until they reached a door Steve opened. It was a small room, just a single bed, a nightstand, a wardrobe, a desk and a door which probably lead to a bathroom.

Steve put her trunk on the floor, stood in the room for a few seconds and turned towards the door again. "Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D.," he gave her a small smile and left the room.

"Glad to be here," Hermione mumbled to no one in particular.

* * *

_The cell was cold. A woman was sitting on the floor, looking at a small gap in the wall, which functioned as some sort of window. It got colder every day and the woman had thought she'd get used to it. Wrong. Weeks went by and hate and the need for revenge occupied her mind. She'd get her revenge. Oh yes, she'll make them suffer. _

_A guard entered the cell, carrying a tray of what supposedly was her "dinner". The man quickly turned around and stepped towards the door again, obviously wanting to leave as soon as possible._

_"Hem. Hem," the woman said._

* * *

**Author's note:** ooh... guess who that is. ;) See you all next time! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: Just so you all know, the first few chapters of this story won't have a lot of action in it. Hope you all won't mind. :) And someone mentioned that it was quite obvious who the "hem hem" person was, but that's the point. So that's not really an issue. ;) :)**

* * *

Steve followed Fury's orders and nudged Hermione to follow him out of the control room. Hermione sped up her pace to keep up with him, oh how glad she was to get out of the room with that Fury guy. Steve took what Hermione called her "trunk" and quickly stepped through the doors leading to the cabins. He saw that Hermione was falling behind so he slowed down, so she could catch up. It wasn't that Steve was really in a hurry, he just wanted to get his things done. And with things he meant important things, like saving people, not showing someone where his/her room was. Steve then felt guilty, since Hermione hadn't really asked for this either. She'd accepted it yes, but Steve wondered whether it was ever a possibility to decline SHIELDs "offer". He reached the part of the Helicarrier where Hermione's cabin was located, it was numbered E219 and it was almost a perfect copy of his own room, apart from the fact that it was just a little bit smaller. He opened the door with a key card and put the trunk down in the middle of the room. Hermione followed.

He remembered his first time here. It was painfully recent and he still had issues getting used to it all. After he woke up he had realised the world had changed. A lot. The technology, the language, the people, basically everything. His loved ones weren't around anymore, and when they were, they were unrecognizable. He didn't just feel like he didn't belong here, he felt as if he didn't belong anywhere. And he was still dealing with this feeling. Joining the Avengers was a step in the right direction, but it was just a job. It was to the others. For Steve it was all he had. He took a look around the room and wondered whether this girl felt the same, being on the Helicarrier for the first time. Taken from what she know, from what was safe. Not knowing what will come. He figured he should say something. Something comforting. No one was really there for him when he came here, just some people claiming to "know" him. That, or people who were his "fans". Which was extremely weird to Steve. But there wasn't anyone to tell him things were going to be alright, and he had needed that.

He realised he'd been standing in her cabin thinking for too long – so it seemed – and he quickly turned around. He tried to think of something to say and then he stepped to the door and glanced back, "Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D.," he said, before leaving her alone. "Well done, Steve," he thought. "That sounded very nice and welcoming."

Steve was alone in the hallway, well, for what he could see. There were cameras everywhere, that he did know. Someone was probably looking at him right now through one of their little screens, wondering why Captain America was standing by himself in a corridor. Steve didn't really have an answer for that, either.

Moments like these had occurred a lot these past months. Longer, even. Just standing somewhere, thinking. People would joke about it, say that he's easily distracted. And maybe he was. The truth is that things hadn't been the same since the whole Avengers thing. Of course, after he was found in the ice it was even weirder. But the events in New York made him realise that everything isn't as he remembered it, and although Steve knew this, he had a hard time dealing with it all.

He looked up at the camera pointed at his direction and figured it'd be best to walk on and do something productive. He didn't really feel like being questioned about his "abnormal behaviour" by his teammates or Fury again. He shrugged and went to his room to get changed into workout clothes. Yeah, hitting a punching bag might be good.

* * *

Hermione sat on her bed, mindlessly fidgeting with the sheets. The Helicarrier had taken off a while ago and although she was very curious about how this worked, she couldn't make herself stand up and go out of her room. The room didn't have a window so for all she knew they could be underwater right now, although the Helicarrier was supposed to fly. But it was, of course, a possibility.

Hermione didn't really know what to do with herself so she decided to unpack her things. She'd brought almost all of her muggle clothes, which still wasn't a lot, but it was probably enough. They'd definitely have a washer in a place like this. She put her things in the closet and stopped when she got hold of one of her books; a photo book.

The book was packed with photos of her time at Hogwarts, her friends and some pictures of her parents and herself on family vacations. She took a photo with Harry, Ron and Ginny on it in her hand. It was taken in her fifth year and although not everything went right that year, they all smiled.

"_Oh, Godric,_"Hermione swore suddenly. She jumped up and quickly put on a jacked and grabbed her wand before leaving the room. How could she have forgotten? She'd been at SHIELD for a few hours now and it was getting late. Every night at Hogwarts Ron or Harry would call her to see how she was doing. Which was strange, considering she was the one safe at Hogwarts whilst Harry and Ron were training to become Aurors. But that didn't stop her from liking those phone calls, they made her feel like they were all together at school still. Ginny and Hermione would usually wait together in their common room for Harry and Ron to call.

_Ron._

Hermione wasn't the kind of girl to worry about boys and stuff. This was Hermione. Not a girl who is occupied by silly things like boys and crushes. She was an adult for Godric's sake.

But Ron liked her. Loved her even, perhaps. And although Hermione cared about Ron a lot, she wasn't sure whether she actually loved him like he loved her. Harry was like her brother, and Ron more or less as well. Yes, they kissed. And Ron was so happy, even after losing his brother. Hermione just couldn't tell him how she was feeling.

No, she didn't love him. Not like that. And every day Ron would call and end the phone call with something like: "I love you, 'Mione." And that'd hurt. Every time a little bit more. Ginny knew. Or at least,Hermione thought she knew. Ginny might have mentioned the subject a few times, obviously wanting to protect her brother from getting his heart-broken. Hermione would have done the same for her family/friends.

But enough about that. Harry and Ron were probably wondering where she was. So she hurried through SHIELD's secret base, in search of a phone. Why didn't she just bring her phone with her? Stupid, stupid. The Helicarrier was surprisingly quiet for a vehicle this big and she wondered whether all the people on this ship were already asleep. Or maybe there were just not many people on board.

Suddenly coming to a halt, Hermione realised that she'd probably entered an abandoned or, more likely, a forbidden part of the Helicarrier. She looked over her shoulder to see if someone would yell at her for entering this part of the ship, but no one was there. There was a door on her left, with a small window in it and Hermione couldn't help but look through it. She stepped towards it slowly, not wanting to make a sound, and she looked through the small window. Inside the room was something Hermione couldn't really put her finger on. It looked like a giant round box, but there wasn't anything inside of it. The rest of the room was built around the box, and it made the whole thing look like some sort of prison. But why anyone would make a prison cell solely of glass.. ?

Hermione looked over her shoulder to see if someone was coming, but there was no one around. She took her wand from her pocket and whispered, "Alohomora". A small sound was heard, indicating that the door was indeed opened.

"That was easy," Hermione mumbled. So, apparently SHIELD wasn't protected against her magic, Hermione made a mental note of the newly discovered flaw in SHIELDs system. This might come in useful someday. She slowly opened the heavy door standing between her and the weird prison room.

The room was colder than the corridor she just left behind. The huge glass box was in the center of the room and Hermione approached it cautiously. The box was empty, and looked quite new or unused. She knocked on what Hermione thought was the glass and Hermione realised it wasn't just glass. It was much stronger. Made for someone or _something_.

Hermione stepped back and walked around it. Whatever it was, or whoever it was for, Hermione didn't like the feeling this room gave her. She looked up and there was some sort of platform, from where people could look at the thing or person in the box. Maybe it was for storing some sort of weapon.

"They designed it for me," someone behind Hermione said. "I saw you frowning at it, probably wondering what or whom it was for."

Hermione spun around and raised her wand at the person standing at the door. She frowned, contemplating whether this person was friend or foe.

"Well, it was made for The Other Guy."

Hermione didn't move, but quickly put two and two together, "You're the H- You're Bruce Banner. Dr. Banner…" Hermione said, putting it more like a question.

"I am, yeah. Nice to see someone knowing my actual name. Not just His.."

Hermione slowly lowered her wand and noticed Bruce's interest in the in his eyes seemingly useless piece of wood.

"It's a wand," Hermione explained, not knowing why she was actually explaining something like this to a muggle. The Ministry would kill her for revealing secrets. Wow. One day at SHIELD and already revealing things she shouldn't. Great.

"A wand?" Bruce asked as he slowly walked to Hermione. He stopped when he saw her resuming her defense by holding the wand up again. Bruce nodded, understanding why she was scared.

"It's alright, I've got Him under control."

Hermione didn't know what he meant by that for a second and then quickly lowered her wand again. "No, no. I didn't mean t-."

"I'm used to it. It's alright," Bruce sat down on one of the chairs facing the cell. He didn't say anything and just looked at the glass.

Hermione lowered her wand fully and carefully walked over to where the man was sitting. She sat down next to him, keeping a small but safe distance. She offered him her hand, "I'm Hermione Granger. Sorry for being exceptionally rude to you."

Bruce shook her hand and smiled, "And I'm Bruce Banner. Like I said, it's alright. Your reaction was actually quite good, compared to most people." Hermione shook her head lightly, not agreeing. "Hey, you didn't throw anything at me, nor did you scream. Honestly, it's fine." Bruce said. "So, any reason why you're sneaking around in here in the middle of the night?"

Hermione felt like she was at Hogwarts again, being caught by Professor Snape or maybe Filch for wandering through the castle at midnight. "I was actually looking for a phone and found this ... room. Why is this here?" Hermione said.

Bruce shrugged. "They made it for me when they got me on this ship a while ago. Then it was suddenly occupied by a very well-known villain. But this is a new one." Bruce said, pointing his head to the cell.

"A new one? What happened to the other?"

"Thor broke it, now they made a new one. Just for me," Bruce smiled grimly.

"They're going to lock you up in here? " Hermione said, horrified. "They can do that?That's barbaric!"

Bruce just shook his head. "No, it's not. SHIELD's prepared, as they should be with me on board. I am a potential risk, so they have means to keep me under control when I can't do it myself. No, it's not something I like, but I'm accepting it." He nodded, trying to convince himself of those words. "Now, I believe Fury mentioned you before, you're the intern, right?"

"Yes, I am. Although I'm not sure what I'm going to do here."

Bruce laughed soundlessly, "I know the feeling. If you want the truth, Hermione – if I can call you that -, they probably need you for something. SHIELD never does anything out of charity." With that Bruce rose and shivered slightly. "It's cold in here," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. "Alright, now, I'm going to sleep before someone finds us here. I'll see you around." He said a goodnight to Hermione and disappeared through the door.

Hermione didn't move for the next few minutes. She'd just met Bruce Banner. Not just the Hulk. _The Hulk._ But also a great scientist. She took her wand in her wand and made a small light so she could walk to her cabin back safely. Not that she was afraid of the dark, no. She wasn't afraid. Just prepared. At all times.

As Hermione was lying in bed she couldn't forget what Dr. Banner had said.

"_SHIELD never does anything out of charity."_

* * *

**Author's note: I'm aware of the fact that these chapters are quite short compared to many other fanfics, so I might start uploading twice a week, but I'm not sure yet. You'll hear from me when I know what I'm going to do. See you all next time! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: Firstly, this chapter might make you go "huh..." at first, but I promise, just read it all and you'll be fine. Secondly, I'd like to thank ReadPaxJoy for giving me some inspiration for this chapter! And I'm sorry that this story is kind of changing to a bit more angst-y, so I might change the genres, but for now it's just a mixture of everything. **

* * *

Hermione felt her back aching. She was lying on a cold and solid surface, unable to move her limbs. Her mouth was dry and it felt like she'd been here for hours, if not more. Her head felt like it was smashed against a rock for days and Hermione felt nauseous. Her eyelids felt heavy and she couldn't make herself open her eyes. She didn't know where she was or how she got there. She tried to move her arms, but they were tied to the table she was lying on. "How? Why?" she thought. She tried to remember, tried to find the missing piece in her memory.

All she knew was that she went to bed. She knew that she'd spoken to Dr. Banner – or Bruce – a few hours earlier. It couldn't have been any longer. "Think, Hermione, _think._" But she didn't know what happened or why. She tried to move her arms again, but they weren't hers to control. The only thing she could feel was how cold it was, her aching back and her throbbing head. She couldn't open her eyes. All she could do was breathe and think. _Breathe and think,_" she thought, "I can still think. I'll be fine. It'll be fine."

She heard a soft click and it felt like a spotlight was being focused on her. Her eyes were closed but she could still feel and see the light, it felt warm compared to what she was lying on. But the idea of being watched made her feel uncomfortable. Uncomfortable, not afraid. Never afraid.

"Granger," a voice spoke, "Glad you could make it." Hermione recognized the voice, she'd heard it before, but she couldn't remember whom it belonged to.

"Well," the person continued, "It's nice to have you here. We rarely meet wizards, and it's even rarer to actually have them on board. You see, we are very interested in your … well … your abilities."

Hermione tried to open her eyes, find out who this person was that was holding her prisoner. She tried to let out a frustrated sigh, only to find out that she couldn't even move her lips apart. If she couldn't even do this, then how in Merlin's name could she ever escape?

"We're all very grateful for you being here," the voice echoed through the room, "But let's not wait any longer; we all want to see where your magic comes from, after all!"

Hermione felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. So, Banner was right? Hermione hadn't thought someone would do this to here this soon? Hell, she hadn't even considered someone actually doing this to her at all. SHIELD was supposed to protect people, right?

Somewhere a door opened and closed again and Hermione could hear someone coming near her. Another sound followed. Hermione felt her head being tied to the table by a pair of cold hands. The spotlight was still pointed at her. Hermione desperately tried to move her arms, her legs, anything. Panic started to take over, _where was she, who was with her and what were they going to do to her? _She felt someone opening her eyes but when she looked around the room, no one was there. This all made no sense, she couldn't move but she was able to move her eyes. She searched the room frantically for any sign of movement from the person speaking to her. This wasn't right.

"Calm now," the person said, "It won't hurt. Not a lot." The person stepped towards the metallic bench. Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of Director Fury, complete with his eye patch and stern look. Hermione tried to think of how it had come to this.

"_For Godric's sake,_" she thought, "He warned me. _He warned me!_" Hermione regretted ever going back to her cabin alone after speaking with Bruce, she should have known. _She should have known._ She couldn't panic right now, no, she had to get out. Maybe she could use a nonverbal spell. Hermione thanked Hogwarts for having taught her this in her sixth year. And of course herself for actually practicing it.

But what spell could she use. A Patronus, perhaps. But this was a Muggle, what could a Patronus do against a human? Exactly. Not much.

But she never got to the point of actually using a spell, because suddenly Hermione heard a laugh. A very familiar laugh. Her heart stopped. Hermione searched the room for the source of said laugh and found Bellatrix Lestrange grinning as she took her place next to Director Fury.

Hermione almost chocked, fear taking over her body as if it was on fire. She'd tremble if she could move. That, or she'd probably faint. "No," she thought, "this isn't real. This isn't happening."

Bellatrix just looked at her, something burning in her eyes. Probably pure hatred, Hermione thought.

Fury smiled, no trace of genuine happiness to be found in miles. "Yes, I've got someone to help me out. You two have met before, I believe."

Bellatrix moved her eyes towards Hermione's arm, which still showed the marks of where Bellatrix had tortured her. "Mudblood," Bellatrix whispered sweetly as he took out a knife, "Let's give these Muggles what they want."

Hermione silently screamed and yelled, trying to get out, get away from this room, from her fears, from the memories she had so desperately tried to forget. "This isn't real," she cried, "this can't be real._ This can't be real!_"

* * *

Steve couldn't remember what happened or how he got here. He was lying on the muddy ground. He took a look around, seeing a group of soldiers on the ground around him. One of the men spoke hasty to a younger man at his side, "We need to get out of here. You lead the others a few miles back, wait there and call for reinforcements."

"What are you going to do?" The younger man asked his superior rather bluntly. He wasn't even a man, Steve thought, this was a boy. Too young to be on the battlefield, too young to see what evil lies in others. "Too young," Steve mumbled, "way too young and innocent."

The man sighed, "I'm staying here, making sure the enemy isn't going to come after you lot." He nodded to himself, having made this decision.

Steve looked from the one guy to the other, "I'll stay here," he said to them, he's Captain America after all. Saving people was his job. But the two men didn't respond to what Steve said. They hadn't even acknowledged at him at all, Steve suddenly realised. Not that he felt that people should recognize him, but he wasn't used to not helping out or just being ignored. Not since he became Captain America.

The boy shook his head, "No, Sergeant. We need to get out of this as a team." The other men nodded in agreement, not willing to leave their squad's leader behind. The Sergeant sighed again, contemplating whether to get mad for the disobedience of his direct order or whether to smile for having a group of brave men around him, willing to fight. He chose the latter. He clamped the young man's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Alright lads. This is what we're going to do," the Sergeant spoke louder and slower this time, so the other guys could keep up. "We're going to stop those bastards from getting near our brothers. This is what you've been trained for, this is what we're all here for: stopping Nazi's – Steve frowned, knowing that something wasn't right here, but he didn't know what, just that something was wrong– and putting an end to these bastards is what we're going to do. Am I clear?"

The men all nodded, ready to move. "We're going to jump out of this ditch and fight. You are going to shoot and you're going to kill. There's no time for sentiments. We need to get this done." The Sergeant knew they were outnumbered, he knew that they would probably not get out of this alive, Steve saw it in his eyes. But the Sergeant and the other guys jumped up and Steve followed.

It took Steve a short while to interpret what was happening around him. The group of soldiers he was just with was running towards a different group of German soldiers. Steve yelled for them to get back, since they were terrible outnumbered, but no one seemed to hear him.

People were running all around Steve. The sound of weapons being fired. Exploding grenades. Men falling. Screaming. Dying. Chaos. There was nothing but chaos around him. It was like watching a movie, he saw everything happening around him, but he couldn't do anything. He tried to punch a guy who was about to shoot one of the soldiers he saw minutes ago, but nothing happened. Steve couldn't do anything. He searched for his shield, only to realise that he didn't have it with him. He looked around him, seeing people falling to the ground. They didn't stand a chance, Steve knew that. But he just stood there, unable to help them.

It was his fault. People got hurt because of him. These men were dying because of him. And he couldn't stop it. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't move. _He just couldn't move_. He hated himself. He, Captain America, let these soldiers die. He saw their faces as they fell to the ground, unable to hide the pain they were in. They cried, they screamed. Steve forced himself to move, to do something and he suddenly realised he didn't hear guns being fired anymore, there were no more explosions. It was quiet.

Apart from one sound. One heartbreaking, terrible sound. Steve turned around to see someone lying on the floor. He slowly stepped towards him, not sure if this was friend or foe. He couldn't see who it was, so he kneeled next to him, slowly and carefully turning the person around. Steve swallowed, it was the boy. The brave, brave boy. There was blood everywhere. Steve could see the spot on the boy's chest where he got hit by a bullet. Steve didn't know his name, he only knew that this boy – _man,_ Steve corrected himself – didn't need to get hurt. The boy was taking small and shaking breathes and slowly moved his gaze towards Steve, seeing him for the first time. "C- Captain," he spoke.

Steve took the boy in his arms, trying to tell him he was going to be alright, Steve was going to make sure of that. The boy shook his head, "No," he said softly, his voice cracking, "I'm dying. Th- That's alright." Steve just shook his head and quickly ripped a part of his jacket to use it to stop the boy from bleeding to death. He pressed it against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. But there was too much blood. Blood was everywhere, Steve couldn't do anything to help the guy.

Steve looked at the boy again, dropped him and backed away. His eyes widened in disbelief. The soldier no longer resembled the person Steve thought him to be. He recognised him as his friend, Bucky. "No," Steve thought, "this can't be happening." Bucky looked at Steve, "You can't help it, Steve. It's... It's not your fault." Steve dropped himself next to Bucky, pressing against the wound once again, his hands covered in blood. He wasn't going to let him die.

The boy suddenly changed someone else again. Steve almost jumped. "Peggy," he whispered. She looked at him and smiled, "It's alright, Steve." Steve shook his eyed vigorously, "No, no, no," he wasn't going to let people die. He couldn't lose them. _He couldn't lose them. _He took of his jacket and used it stop the bleeding, but he knew it wouldn't work.

Steve closed his eyes and shook his head, this couldn't be real. He knew that. He opened his eyes again and saw the boy lying on the ground again, looking like himself again. The boy constantly changed from Bucky, to Peggy, to Steve's mother and more people he cared about. He was making a choking sound and his eyes weren't focused on Steve anymore. They seemed to be worlds away. "This isn't real," Steve said almost in a whisper, "this can't be real._ This can't be real._"

* * *

Hermione woke up, shaking and completely covered in sweat. She almost jumped out of her bed, quickly grabbing her wand, ready to strike if necessary. Her heart was beating fast against her chest and it took her a few moments to realise that she wasn't tied down to a table. She wasn't being cut into pieces for some sort of experiment. And Bellatrix wasn't there to torture her. She sat down on her bed. "She's dead," Hermione said to herself, "She's dead and the dead can't hurt you." Realising she came from a world where ghosts, etc. were a common thing, she sighed. Bellatrix wasn't around anymore. She was certain of that.

Hermione let out a sigh of frustration. She knew it was time to accept what happened, to deal with it all. But she couldn't. She couldn't forget it. The memories still haunted her.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Hermione was offered this chance, and she was going to try her best no matter how she felt. So she got up like she normally would and went to the small bathroom to take a shower.

* * *

Steve shot up in his bed. His hair was sticking against his head. His heart was beating like crazy. He rubbed his eyes, trying to rub the nightmare away with it. It didn't work. What happened in the dream was still in his mind, he saw their faces. Of the people that died. The people he lost. He couldn't save everyone, Steve knew that. But dreams like these have been haunting him for months. New York had only made it worse. Thousands of people died back then and Steve knew he wasn't responsible for it. He knew that. He knew, but he couldn't make himself forget about all the innocent lives that had been destroyed.

Most people get time to deal with the aftermath of a war. To accept what happened. To mourn the dead. But Steve was never given time for this. He went from one war straight to another. So much had changed and Steve hated the fact that he still wasn't able to deal with it.

He got up, figuring he wouldn't be able to sleep anymore. He walked to the closet to put on a shirt and left his room, heading towards the gym. Again.

* * *

**Author's note: I wrote this chapter mainly because I liked seeing the parallels in both their lives/dreams/dealing with the war(s) they were in, etc. Hope you enjoyed and I will see you all next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: my internet is not working so this chapter is a bit late, on the other hand, it is longer than the other chapters so that's good! ;) **

* * *

The Helicarrier was unusually quiet, Steve noted. He'd spent his morning training in the gym after a night of nightmares and absolutely no sleep and headed towards the cafeteria for a well-deserved breakfast. Steve could practically eat whatever he wanted without getting out of shape, but that also meant he had to eat enough to actually stay in shape. The whole super-soldier-serum had its ups and downs. When it came to who ate the most within the Avengers team, Thor was obviously the winner. But Steve was a close second. Tony ate when he felt like it, Bruce ate quite healthy and Clint, well, Clint just really liked donuts and jellybeans, which meant getting a lot of eyerolls from Natasha. Steve realised that this was about the 100th time he'd thought about his friends, or colleagues, and he had to admit that he missed them.

He opened the door and saw a familiar figure sitting alone at a table, "Morning Bruce," Steve said from where he stood and he gave the man a small wave before quickly turning to the food. Once Steve had enough food on his plate, he stepped towards Bruce's table and sat down next to him. Bruce said a 'good morning' with a smile and continued to eat something that looked like a burned croissant. SHIELD's cooks weren't very good at baking, Steve concluded. He took one of the slices of bread and put some butter on it, followed by something named "Nutella", one of the best things Steve had ever eaten in his life. He remembered how Tony made quite a fuss about Steve never having eaten Nutella, and now Steve was pretty much addicted to the chocolate-hazelnut goodness. "Thanks Tony," Steve thought.

Bruce and Steve sat next to each other in a comfortable silence for a while, both eating their breakfast. Steve glanced at Bruce, remembering how he used to call him "Doctor Banner", but Bruce asked him to just call him Bruce. So that's what Steve did from then on.

"You haven't slept properly in days, have you?" Bruce suddenly said, stating it more as an observation than a question. Bruce left his food and turned to face Steve, the question still hanging in the air between them.

Steve took a bite of his apple in response and said nothing. Bruce sighed, "Steve, you might be a super soldier, but even super soldiers need sleep. Everyone knows that. And you are not getting enough of it," Bruce crossed his arms, "I can see it, Steve. And once we get back to New York the others will notice it as well."

Steve mentally slapped himself, he had totally forgotten that they were going back to New York. He now realised why the Helicarrier seemed so abandoned. Steve had blamed it on the fact that his team was currently staying in Stark Tower, not wanting to be around Fury and all the other SHIELD agents all the time. Steve could only agree with that. The only people on board were those who had to either control the ship or do secret spy stuff Steve knew nothing about. The other Avengers, minus Bruce, didn't have to be on the ship at this time. Clint and Natasha were usually away for SHIELD, Thor was in Asgard and Stark was doing whatever that guy was doing in his own time – probably going to parties or something. But Steve had a job to do, namely escorting Ms. Granger to the Helicarrier and to the SHIELD base. Although Steve didn't really think escorting a girl was something a super soldier should do – any agent could do this –, but Fury had ordered him to do it. And then you had Bruce who was around because, well, Steve didn't really know why.

"Steve," Bruce said, pulling Steve away from his thoughts, "I said you seemed very far away lately."

Steve looked at the plate of food before him and mindlessly stabbed a different slice of bread. "I'm fine, Bruce."

"You know you can always talk to me," Bruce said as he sighed a little, "Even though I'm not _that_ kind of doctor."

"I thank you for that, Doctor Banner, but it won't be necessary. Really." Steve said as he rose from his chair. Bruce put a hand on his arm, "Steve," he said, "It's alright to not feel okay."

Steve shook Bruce's arm off and was ready to leave. He gave Bruce a small unconvincing smile before putting away his leftovers and then he left. Bruce watched him go without saying another word, not certain what to do with Steve and his current state. He didn't want to make a big deal out of this, but he really was worried about Steve, someone he cared about. Bruce decided to follow him.

Steve wasn't really someone who'd cry. No, that wasn't him. Yes, he was probably the most "emotional" Avenger, as Tony joked about on a daily basis, but he wasn't a person to cry. And that conversation had driven him to the verge of crying, so he'd left to find somewhere he could sit by himself. "Super soldier," he whispered to himself. "You're a super soldier."

* * *

Director Fury was just discussing the plans for the Helicarrier with Agent Hill. They'd stop somewhere once they were on American soil – or rather, in American air – because they didn't really need the Helicarrier at this time. The Helicarrier would be stored somewhere safe until SHIELD felt like it was needed again, or maybe for when another alien race tries to take over the world. You never know.

Hill reminded Fury of the fact that they still needed a plan for their guest, as Hill put it. Fury grunted inwardly at the idea of having that witch girl as a guest on his ship. Hill had said he should give her a chance. But then again, Hill didn't really know anything about the things SHIELD had done to these 'wizards' years ago. It wasn't something Fury was proud of or something he'd helped with, but still, he knew what they had done. Hill had left the room, leaving Fury alone with his thoughts.

Superheroes Fury could deal with. Aliens: still trying to deal with those. But wizards and stuff, no, Fury didn't want anything to do with them. Aliens were probably worse, but at least they didn't live on his planet. Wizards did. And they could pretty much do anything. "All insane," Fury had said when that noseless guy tried to take over. At least the magical community had taken care of _that problem_. Fury was happy to not have been a part of that battle. If you could have called it a battle at all. Waving stupid sticks around. Fury just shook his head. Nope, he didn't understand those 'people' at all.

"Director?" a voice suddenly said, tearing Fury away from his thoughts.

Fury saw a young agent standing hesitantly at the entrance of the small conference room, "Yes?" Fury asked, annoyed by the fact that he couldn't even go five minutes without being disturbed.

The agent wasn't older than 20 and Fury didn't know him well. He – of course – knew what he had to know about the young man, but that was only because Fury knew pretty much everything about everyone on his ship. The agent didn't reply and Fury saw how nervous the agent was looking. The agent glanced around, checking if they were alone. Fury knew this look and thought it'd be best to have a private conversation. He went to his office and the agent followed him there. Once they entered the room, Fury pointed at the chair in front of his desk, and the young agent sat down. Fury on the other hand, chose to stand, mainly because this was a way of showing who was in charge here. The agent took a deep breath and took a pile of papers from under his jacket and handed it to Director Fury with shaking hands. "I think you should take a look at this," the agent said quietly.

Fury took the documents from the agent and looked at them warily with his one good eye. He quickly scanned through the pages and his jaw tensed. "Where did you get this?" he barked at the agent sitting in front of him.

The agent looked as if he was trying to disappear in his chair, "I- I don't know, Sir."

Fury put the file on his desk and sat down before moving his attention from the agent towards the window. There was complete silence in the room for a few moments. "You don't know," he said, obviously not buying it.

"That's the truth, Sir," the agent spoke again, more confident this time, "I went to get some coffee and I found the file on my desk when I came back. It said "confidential" and "top-secret" so I figured it'd be best to bring it to you immediately."

"Who was in the room with you?"

"No one, Sir," the agent spoke as he shook his head, "I was alone."

"It is your job to watch over important documents and the likes, isn't it?" Fury asked, sounding way too nice, the agent thought.

"Yes it is, Sir," said the agent.

"You are responsible for those documents and yet you think it's alright to take _a_ _coffee break._"

The agent swallowed nervously.

"Have you read it?" Fury asked.

"No, Sir."

Fury suddenly jumped up from his chair and moved towards the agent. He threw the agent against the wall, keeping his arm at the agent's neck. "Don't lie to me, boy," Fury hissed in the agent's face as he shoved his arm further against the agent's neck.

The agent's eyes widened and he tried to breathe, which was proving extremely difficult with Fury almost killing him. "I- I swear, Sir," the agent choked out. Fury kept looking at him, searching for a lie. "I swear," the agent repeated in a whisper.

A second later Fury stepped back. He looked at the agent once more before turning to his desk again. The agent was trying to calm his breathing. His hands moved to his throat. This was his first week on the Helicarrier and he knew that he already made it on Fury's keep-an-eye-on-these-people list. Not good. Not good at all. At least he was still alive, the agent thought, that must mean something.

"Alright. You can leave," Fury said without looking at the man and the agent quickly sprinted out of the room.

Fury walked to the door and locked it before returning to his chair. He took the key he wore around his neck in his hand, "Stupid-ass motherfuckers," he cussed as he unlocked the drawer under his desk. Fury took a different pile of paper from the drawer and put them on his desk, next to the ones the agent just gave him.

He wondered who'd sent the files. It had happened before, files suddenly being placed right in his office. No one knew where they'd come from. Nothing on the security cams, no fingerprints, no eyewitnesses, nothing.

He let out an annoyed sigh, he definitely wasn't ready for this. Not now. Not again.

* * *

Hermione was just going to get some breakfast when a someone she recognized walked towards her. Steve wasn't really paying attention and stepped around her without thinking. Hermione frowned, wondering what was wrong. Steve looked like he was having a bad day. He then disappeared trough a hallway at her left.

Hermione turned around to continue her search for food and found Bruce coming her way. That's odd, she thought, first Steve and now Bruce. Bruce, in contrary to Steve, did recognize Hermione and stopped.

"Morning," Hermione said. She was still frowning after seeing an upset Steve Rogers walking away. "Did something happen?"

Bruce hesitated for a moment, not sure if he should tell this girl he barely knew about someone who trusted him. He took one look at Hermione's worried expression and chose in that moment that he could trust her with this.

"Steve's having some issues," Bruce started, "But he doesn't want to admit it. After the battle in New York things haven't been the same with him."

Hermione nodded, "I understand." She saw something change in the way Bruce looked and wanted to explain why she could understand. She wanted to tell him about the people she'd lost. About the things she'd been through. Bruce seemed like the person who'd listen. He seemed like the person who'd understand. But she realised that most people probably didn't know about the war against Voldemort, and that this was about Steve, not herself. She'd save her story for later. "Alright," she continued, "Are you going to talk to him?"

"That was the plan, but I don't think he'll listen to me. I doubt he'll listen to anyone, to be honest with you."

"I'll go and talk to him," said Hermione.

"You're here to learn things," Bruce said, "You don't have to."

Hermione smiled. "I've been here for about two days and no one has treated me like an intern. No one gave me tasks or took me with them to see how things go around here. What you said about SHIELD," Hermione's voice was now changing into a whisper, "I'm afraid you're right. They want something and I don't know what. So, until I find out, I can just as well help someone out."

Bruce gave her a grim smile, "I'd leave if I were you," he didn't mention what he knew about SHIELD's history with wizards and witches. All Bruce knew was that years ago, SHIELD did experiments on/with members of the wizarding community. SHIELD said not to do this anymore, but how could you trust people who are trained to lie and deceive? Exactly, you couldn't.

Hermione just shook her head, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Now, I'm going to find that sad friend of yours." Hermione stepped away from Bruce and followed Steve. Or at least tried to follow him. She had no idea where he went. "Alright, think Hermione," she mumbled, "where'd you go if you were him?"

Hermione had absolutely no clue, but luckily for her she was a witch. She had brought her wand with her, which meant that she could use a simple tracking spell. Oh, how she loved the fact that muggles didn't know how to make sure they couldn't be traced with spells like these. She used her wand to navigate around the ship and ended up standing in front of a giant door. Steve was in there.

Using a spell to get in wasn't exactly a polite thing to do so Hermione knocked on the door.

No answer.

"Steve?" Hermione called, her ear against the door. "Are you in here?" She knew he was in here, but still.

No answer.

"Steve, it's me Hermione. I'm coming inside? Is that alright?"

No answer.

Hermione figured that meant 'yes', or at least not a 'no', so she silently used "Alohomora" and pushed the door open. It was dark and Hermione couldn't find a light switch.

"Lumos," she whispered and entered the strange room. A faint blue glow came from the back and Hermione realised she must have entered the lower part of the Helicarrier, looking at the huge open and dark space around her. "Steve?" she asked as she took a few steps towards the light. She saw something move from the corner of her eye. She raised her want to see and saw someone sitting on some sort of higher platform with his back turned towards her. Steve. She walked over to him. Steve was sitting by himself, his legs dangling over the edge. Hermione had been in many situations like this one with Harry, so she knew what not to do or say. Well, she liked to think that she knew.

"Hey," Hermione said as she sat down next to him. "What are you doing here?"

Steve looked up and opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it again. "Are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"Do you know what it's like to be in a war?" Steve said. It was a rhetorical question, but Hermione couldn't help but give a nod in reply. "Do you know what it's like to lose the people you care about, and you can't forget their faces," Steve continued. "Everyone acts like nothing happened."

Hermione tried to keep up with Steve's thinking. She'd read/heard that Steve was discovered in the ice after fighting in WW II and that he fought Loki and the Chitauri in New York a while ago. She tried to come up with something clever to say, something useful. But books didn't prepare you for this, and for once, Hermione was glad she had to have conversations like this with Harry and Ron. She knew the pain. She understood.

"Steve," she said, "you can't save everyone. You shouldn't want to save everyone. That's far beyond your abilities. Far beyond anyone's abilities."

Steve didn't respond to this.

"You're a hero, Steve. But you cannot save everyone," her voice was getting shaky and she tried to keep it under control. Steve turned his face towards hers and he narrowed his eyes.

"I mean it," she continued. "I know what it's like. I do. But you can't do this on your own."

Steve moved his gaze towards his own hands. "I'm a super soldier," he said, "I do what I have to do. It's my duty."

Hermione sighed, "Steve, I knew someone who saw it as his duty to save everyone. At one point, he even gave his life for the ones he loved," Hermione left out the part where Harry came back, figuring it wouldn't really help Steve at this point, "He could never have saved everyone. And it kept haunting him for so long."

Steve _did_ respond to this story. "He must have been a hero."

Hermione smiled a little, happy to hear him speak,it was a small victory. "He was. He didn't see it himself, but he was a hero." She patted Steve carefully on the back and Steve didn't move away; another victory for Hermione. "Steve, you've been through a lot. You've seen people die and trust me, you couldn't have saved them all. You might be a superhero, but you're still human."

Steve looked up and Hermione could swear she saw something glistening in his eyes. She might have met him not long ago, but seeing him like this gave her an aching feeling in her stomach. So much hurt. She'd seen it with Harry and she knew it could tear someone apart. "It'll be alright," she spoke softly, "You have friends and they can help you get through this." Steve didn't seem to be the person who'd prefer to sit in solitude, so Hermione stayed next to him. Not too close, but still there. She couldn't see it, but Steve had a small smile on his lips.

* * *

**Author's note:** **I hope you liked that and ****although it makes me very nervous to hear what people think about this story, please review and until next time! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: a happy new year to you all! And sorry for not updating for a while. I'd like to thank everyone (again) for reading and reviewing, it means a lot! Now, let's meet another Avenger. **

* * *

Send a message to Harry and Ron, the mission of this morning. Hermione had been with SHIELD for a few days and just realised that she hadn't told her friends where she was. She tried but had stumbled upon a certain scientist, also known as Bruce Banner, also known as the Hulk. She kind of forgot about Hogwarts for this short while, mainly because all she did was get lost and then tried to find her way around the massive ship. So that and there was also the whole Steve, or Captain America, issue.

Hermione thought she handled the situation quite well, she didn't say anything stupid (of course not, she thought) and Steve seemed to relax, somewhat. That was now about, she tried to remember the exact time, well, two days ago. She hadn't really seen much of him after that happened and she could understand why he needed some space. He had smiled a little, though, when Hermione saw him going to the gym. "A smile's good," she'd thought. She'd talked to Bruce quite a lot and it was funny how interested he was in magic. Hermione noted to show him some magical items. He'd love that.

So, conclusion: she'd sort of made two friends. Faster than with her first year at Hogwarts. The word friends got her back to the real world, the world where she really needed to talk to her wizard friends. Dumbledore might have given them some vague explanation which would only lead to more questions, so it'd probably be a good thing to explain things herself. Although she still didn't really know what was going on herself. Hermione preferred calling someone over sending a letter or maybe even a Patronus. Sending the Patronus was too much of a desperate necessity to keep their plans a secret in the Wizarding War, so she'd use that as a last resort.

"A phone, right, let's try this again," she mumbled to herself as she once again left her quarter to go and find a phone she could use. How she didn't take one with her when she first got here was beyond her, so she just shrugged and tried to find one, again. Doctor Banner or Bruce would probably have one she could borrow and Hermione went to his lab. It wasn't difficult finding the lab, she'd been there a few times these past days. It was the only place she didn't feel like an outcast, it reminded her a bit of Potions at Hogwarts, without the getting points deducted for being an "insufferable know-it-all". Thinking of it, Bruce's lab was actually way better than Potions class. Hermione didn't really understand all the high-tech screens and devices around her, but she was learning and Bruce was a very patient instructor. It was apparently all "Stark Technology" which meant it was all very futuristic, functional and impossible to understand.

She gave a small knock on the door out of habit and normal courtesy, although she could look through the glass and see Bruce working on something she, again, didn't recognize, apart from the fact that it was a liquid. She could see that. Bruce turned around and gave a small wave. Hermione opened the door and approached Bruce and the thing he was working on with some caution, but mostly genuine interest and curiosity. Bruce saw her looking at the bottle in his hand and put the bottle of liquid down, "Ah, you're probably wondering what this is." Hermione, always the curious one, nodded.

"Well," Bruce started as he sat down on a chair, nudging Hermione to take the chair next to him, "This is some sort of rare metal. Looks like a liquid, feels like a liquid but acts like a metal." He saw Hermione's frown and continued, "in other words: it's a liquid and it'll, for as far as I know, not solidify. But it's almost indestructible so I'm trying to find out how to actually use it, because you can't really build something with a liquid, can we? So, I need to find a way to solidify it." Bruce spoke like this was very easy to understand, and it probably was. For Bruce.

"But," Hermione started, "I never heard of something like this on earth."

Bruce smiled grimly, "That's because it's probably not from here. After New York there are some strange things going on. Portals, for example. Someone found this stuff and they asked me to find out what it is and what to do with it."

"Not an easy job," Hermione noted.

"No, but an interesting one. And if we can use this stuff, we might help people with it as well. And that's of course the ultimate goal," he put his hand on the table and walked to one of the windows. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, facing Hermione. "And I'm not doing it alone. Tony will help," Bruce frowned a little, "Well, if he shows up."

"… Tony? As in Tony Stark? Iron Man?"

Bruce gave a short laugh, "Yes, that one."

"He can help with this?" Hermione frowned a little.

"Ah," Bruce started, "Most people just know him as the whole "genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist", and then mostly the "playboy" part. He might even believe this as well, but he's the one who build the Iron Man suit. All by himself."

"I suppose he can help, then," Hermione smiled. She did want to meet that man, definitely. But for now, she had to call her friends. "Oh right, Bruce, I actually came here for something. Could I borrow your phone?"

Bruce was already scared something had happened but Hermione just wanted to use his phone. Nothing happened. Everything's good. "Of course," he got his phone from his pocket and handed it to Hermione, before adding jokingly, "If I get it back."

Hermione gave him a firm nod, "Of course, I just need to make a quick phone call, then I'll bring it back."

"See you later, then," and Bruce stepped to the bottle of weird metal and started working. She left the lab to find somewhere quiet.

* * *

After she found something that was probably an empty conference room she dialed Harry's number. Harry picked up within seconds, "Hello?" he asked, sounding a bit anxious.

Hermione let out a relieved sigh, "Harry! It's me."

Harry then continued to throw questions at Hermione and she couldn't understand a single one of them. "Harry," she tried but he just continued the question firing, "Harry James Potter!"

There was silence on the other end of the line and Hermione gave Harry a minute to catch his breath.

"Are you alright?" he asked when he finally managed to speak again.

"Yes, perfectly fine. I'm sorry I didn't let you know about where I was sooner."

"I was worried, 'Mione! So was Ginny. And Ron, don't even get me started on Ron.."

Hermione cringed a little at this, "What did Dumbledore tell you?"

"Just that you were working with some Muggle organization and that he didn't know when, or if, you'd come back.."

Hermione realised she couldn't just tell everything, so she'd keep it short. "Dumbledore told the truth, I got offered an internship with a muggle government organization. That's where I'm now."

There was no response for a few seconds. "'Mione," Harry started, "I've known you for years, I know when you're hiding things. What's going on?"

Well, the "tell the truth but leave things out" method didn't work. Hermione felt the need to sigh for about the hundredth time this week. "It's a secret organization. I'm not allowed to tell you everything. You just need to know that I'm alright." She mentally added "for now".

Harry seemed to be thinking this over, "alright. But you're safe?"

"Just as safe as I'd be at Hogwarts."

Harry made a noise that indicated that's not safe at all. "Harry, is there something wrong?" She knew her friend and this sounded like there was something bad going on. Something very bad.

There was no answer.

"Harry, what's going on?"

Harry hesitated before answering, "Nothing big, really. Nothing you need to worry about."

Hermione rolled her eyes, ""Nothing I need to worry about"? Harry, if there's something going on I want to know," there was no response, "Harry, what's going on?!"

"Oh, Ron's here, I'll give the phone to him," Harry quickly threw the phone at Ron and Hermione could almost see the relief in his eyes. Typical, she thought. She realised Ron was on the phone and she should probably say something.

Ron beat her to it and exclaimed with relief, "'Mione! Oh thank Godric, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," Hermione answered, sounding more annoyed than she'd intended to, "I mean, yes, Ron, I'm fine. But what's going on?"

"What?"

"What's going on with Harry?"

"Harry?" Ron said vaguely, "Harry's fine."

If Hermione could throw something at them she would have, but all she could do was clamp the phone with her hands._  
_

"_What is going on?"_

Ron shifted uncomfortably, "It's nothing Hermione. There are some … small problems. Auror business. Harry's just a bit tired, that's all. We have the training and HArry has all this "O my Godric you defeated Voldy" fans. He's just tired. But," Ron quickly changed the subject before Hermione could respond, "But I miss you, 'Mione."

Hermione hated not knowing what was going on, but this.. this was probably worse. She didn't know how to react to this, should she tell the truth and say she just doesn't love him like that. But she didn't want to ruin their friendship.

And suddenly there was this moment of clearance. She was Hermione Granger. Muggleborn. Gryffindor. Survivor of the Second Wizarding War. And she would _not_ act like a coward when it came to someone she'd known for years. The truth was after all a beautiful yet terrible thing and Hermione would treat it with great caution, but she'd tell Ron the truth. He deserved that.

"I-I miss you too, Ron. Just like I miss Harry and Ginny." Hermione hated herself for saying it like this, but Ron would understand. Hopefully. He'd understand what it meant.

Hermione waited for an answer and was suddenly talking to Harry again.

"He, erm, he left?" Harry said, uncertain. "What did you talk about?"

"Nothing, Harry. It's alright. But now you need to tell me what's going on. _Please._"

"Things are going on and the Ministry is either part of it or is really stupid enough to not notice things. Again."

Hermione listened intently to Harry's words. Taking in everything he said. Remembering it.

Harry continued, "Azkaban, you know how they fired the Dementors..."

"Yes, they fired the Dementors because they're too unpredictable, unless they're following evil, of course. It's a good thing on one side, but…" It dawned on her, "Wait, who's guarding the prisoners, then?

"That's the thing, it's mainly magic and Aurors, but the Dementors made the prisoners feel weakened…"

"And that's not the case now…" Hermione continued, "They are bitter, angry and alone in those cells and that's not good for one's magic. The prisoners are probably no less strong than they were during the War."

"Exactly. And there have been attempted escaped. Even a few successful ones."

"Who?" Hermione said breathlessly.

"No one we have fought in person."

"They still see you as their enemy, the one by whom they've been defeated."

"I know, but that's not the only problem."

"It's not?"

"Someone's leading them. We don't know who but it's someone inside Azkaban," said Harry quietly.

"That's not good, Harry. Not good at all."

"We know. Some muggle presidents, prime-ministers, etc. have been warned but for now, we don't know what's coming. So please, 'Mione, watch out for yourself."

"I will, Harry. You should do the same. And for Ron, of course."

"Don't worry, he'll be alright. If you don't love him like that he will accept that. It'll just take a while."

Harry had grown up, Hermione thought. He understood. "Thank you, Harry. And say hello to Ginny for me, will you?"

"I'll do that! Alright, I'm off to training, I'll talk to you later, 'Mione!" And he hung up the phone.

* * *

"Stark," Steve said with a small smile and a nod, as he greeted the man coming inside the laboratory. He'd been there for about an hour now, just watching Bruce work, the only person he could talk to on this ship who wouldn't stare at him, which was quite nice once in a while. Bruce also looked up and smiled, "Tony!" He quickly left his workbench and went to greet his friend. "Long time no see," he said.

Tony grinned, "Sorry, was busy with some things." Without further explaining things he entered the room and started looking at Bruce's work. "Ah, you got the good stuff," he said, pointing at the weird substance, "not from around, I suppose."

Bruce nodded, "Guess all space travel and alien things shook things up around here. I talked to Jane Foster," Tony interrupted by making a whistling sound. Bruce just rolled his eyes and continued, "But she was in the middle of some sort of research. Had something to do with Asgard, but that was all she wanted to say."

"Right, well, it'll have to wait because I have something better to talk about," Tony started. Bruce and Steve raised their eyebrows, "What then?" Steve asked.

"So, I was going through some SHIELD things, you know, the usual, and I found something very interesting."

"You can't keep doing that," Steve argued.

"I do what I want, Capsicle," Tony shrugged, "Anyways, there's something on board right now,"

"Yes, Tony, there are quite some people around at this moment…" Bruce sighed.

"You guys," Tony jumped up and went to one of the screens, he clicked on some things and a picture of Hermione was projected in front of them. "Look," he pointed at her picture, "Looks like an ordinary girl right?"

Steve opened his mouth to say something, but Tony ignored him and continued.

"Wrong! They marked her as extremely dangerous and possible enemy. And I know that happens quite often, but I found out, that this person's on the ship right now!"

"Tony…" Bruce tried to interfere.

"So I did some digging, not because I was bored or anything, and I found this…" He clicked on another picture and enlarged it. Turned out, it wasn't one picture, no, it was a slide show. Pictures of a bridge in London, collapsing by what seemed to be black smoke. Then another picture, camera footage of what seemed to be some sort of gunfight in a cafe, after that, strange men keeping an eye on what seems to be an ordinary street. The slide show continued to show pictures of things they had never seen before, ending with a picture of a ruin with a sign saying it's dangerous.

"What was all that?" Bruce asked.

"That, my friend, were pictures SHIELD took of what they call the "wizard community" and their War. "

Steve and Bruce didn't seem to be blown away by that part and Tony looked at them, "Well…? Why aren't you going all "what the fuck Tony this can't be true" on me?"

"Because we already know about those things." Steve simply said, resting against one of the walls. "Her name's Hermione, by the way."

"You do?" Tony asked, "Why don't I know?!"

"You were busy with "things" and I don't think Fury would have appreciated it if we talked about it with you…"

"Well, that hurt," Tony said, placing a hand on his heart and pretending to cry. "That you guys don't trust me enough…"

"Tony, shut up," Steve was losing his patience as he moved to the center of the room again.

"What's with you, Gramps?"

"Don't call me that."

"You can't give me orders, Ice Age."

"Guys, stop. It doesn't matter," Bruce stepped between them. He turned to Tony, "We were here when they brought Hermione on the ship. Steve collected her from her school. She's been around for a couple of days."

"Right. So you know about all those pictures SHIELD has?"

"No," Bruce shook his head, "But Hermione told us about something called the "the Second Wizarding War". Those pictures are probably taken by SHIELD agents."

"Why don't we know about those things, though? I mean, we save the world from freaking aliens and they don't even tell use there are magical fairy people walking around here."

"They're not "fairy people"", Steve grumbled, "They're actually pretty much like us."

"You seem to like them, Capsicle," Tony stated, "Why so?"

"None of your business, Stark."

Bruce sighed in annoyance, "Can you guys stop this for one minute. _Please._"

"Fine, whatever." Tony but his hands together and brought them to his chin, "But why is she here?"

"If only we knew," a voice behind them suddenly said. The guys turned around to Hermione standing in the doorway, holding Bruce's phone. After a very uncomfortable moment of silence Hermione put the phone on one of the table, "Thanks for letting me use it," she said.

"You're the witch?!" Tony exclaimed excitedly while stepping closer, "Wow! Could you do some hocus-pocus tricks for me?"

"Tony…," Steve said, "Leave her alone."

"Can you become invisible?" Tony continued, "Is it true you wear funny hats?"

Steve took a step towards Tony and looked down at him with a look of utter disapproval, "Stop it."

"Won't touch your girl, Cap," Tony replied with a grin. Steve just bit his tongue and ignored it.

"They said I'd get work as an intern, you know, learning and working, but we haven't really been doing anything productive at all," Hermione said with a frown as her eyes went from Tony to Steve and back.

"Hmm," Tony thought out loud, looking at Hermione, "They probably need you or something. Or they want a collection. They already have some superheros, it makes sense. It's Probably some SHIELD secret agenda stuff. As usual. ."

"We thought so too," Bruce nodded. "But what can we do? They're not telling her or us anything."

"Hey, I guess we'll just have to find out," Tony smirked. "Oh, man. I'm glad to be back!"

* * *

**AN: So, until next time!**


End file.
